If Miss Piggy had come up against this beastie, we doubt whether her karate chops would have made it shake with fear.

This giant ‘frog from hell’ would have weighed in at 4kg and been up to 40cm longer than a rugby ball – somewhat, er, bigger than Miss Piggy’s weedy Muppet pal, Kermit.

In fact, its squat body, huge head and wide mouth helped make it one of the biggest frogs ever, a newly found 70 million-year-old fossil unearthed in Madagascar reveals.

Its appearance suggests an indulgent appetite and gobbling baby dinosaurs may indeed have been on its menu.

Researcher Prof Susan Evans said: ‘This frog would have been the size of a slightly squashed beach ball. It would have been a formidable predator on small animals and its diet would most likely have consisted of insects and small vertebrates, such as lizards. But it is not impossible it even munched on hatchling or juvenile dinosaurs.’

Dubbed Beelzebufo (frog from hell) by scientists at University College London and Stony Brook University, New York, the fossil is similar to horned toads previously thought to be unique to South America.

This suggests Madagascar may have split from other land masses 80million years ago – more recently than some scientists believe.

The giant frog, which became extinct at the same time as dinosaurs, is one of many extraordinary fossils found on the island.